this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2024
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Steam Deck

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[PSA] The terrible tragedy of a stolen Steam Deck (lemm.ee)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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This is a post I wish I never had to make. Forgive my grammar and spelling as I am a bit emotional.

My Steam Deck was stolen and I just had it for less than 2 months.

It has been more than 2 weeks since it happened but it still hurts the same. I wanted to make this post because it was a very costly mistake from my side and I don't want it to happen to anyone else.

<story>

It happened when I was shifting from one house to another house and there were lots of maintenance workers at the destination house. After I kept my luggage inside the house, I left to buy some essentials. My mom was the only person left who was watching over the stuff. By the time I came back, the workers had left. I thought I have some free time so decided to pull the Steam Deck out but it was missing.

<vent>

I was absolutely devastated; I can't even begin to explain in words what it felt like. I asked, through the person who hired the workers, if they took it. But all the workers refused. I was just crushed; I could feel my heart dropping into my stomach. Even now, as I am typing this story, that emotion is replaying.

</vent>

After this happened, I removed all payment methods from my Steam account (Steam Guard 2FA was already active). I saw after 5 days that the Steam Deck was online for a brief period of time, via Steam Guard. I purposefully didn't sign out of the device because I wanted the thieves to make the mistake of signing in and giving me some clue about their location; the Steam Deck was still inside my city. I took the IPs and submitted it to the police and asked them if they could track it. They said they will try their best since getting the customer details from an IP is a "lengthy and time-consuming process". But at this point, I can't do anything; it's not possible for me to visit all the worker's home individually and check as I don't have the authority. I gave up and convinced myself to move on.

</story>

This taught me a lot of things and I wanted to share with the community, now that I have slightly recovered mentally.

Secure your luggage when moving

When you are moving, you usually have a million thoughts in your head. This can cause you to neglect your luggage's safety. If you are going to unload your luggage temporarily, KEEP IT IN A SECURE MANNER FIRST and then do everything else.

A secure manner could mean

  • Under someone's watch
  • Putting it far away from the exit
  • Putting a lock on the luggage
  • Putting it inside a cabinet and locking it

Don't just unload the luggage and start doing something mentally involving.

Be wary of outsiders

Sometimes, there will be outside people in your home. It's crucial to keep the Steam Deck out of reach of everyone. Not everyone is a thief but different people have different moral standards. Don't create a tempting scenario for others. Keep it secure when there are guests/workers at your place.

Put some form of tracking on the device

The Steam Deck is like a traditional laptop; it has no SIM or GPS. Once it's lost, it's really hard to get it back. There are methods by which you can track the Steam Deck (Steam Guard) but it involves IP and it's not enough to get an exact location. Other than law-enforcement, no one can find the customer details associated with an IP address.

An alternate approach, which can be slight pricey, is to put a Tile tracker on the device. There are tutorials on how it can be attached to the device.

Note: I'm not associated with Tile in any way.

Get the official Serial Number and MAC ID of the device

It will help you to uniquely identify the device IF it gets stolen. You may find the serial number on

  • The bill of purchase
  • Inside the Steam Deck settings section
  • On the Steam Deck package
  • You can ask Steam support for the serial number once it's associated with your account The MAC ID is present on the Steam Deck settings page (and also on your access point logs if it has connected even once).

I hope this post is educational and makes you wary of the physical dangers around us. Please keep your handhelds or any valuables safe

<vent>

What hurts even more is that the Steam Deck, which was the 1 TB OLED model, was a gift from a very special person and I feel like I have betrayed that person by losing it. I had lots of plans with the device, like making a couch plug-and-play setup, a retro gaming setup, a productivity device by using desktop mode, etc. But all my plans were shattered in an instance. I'm now convincing myself to move on to something else.

</vent>

Edit: As of 20th August, I can see via Steam Guard that the device was logged into a few hours ago (2 weeks post the burglary). I know the risks involved in keeping my device signed in. I'm counting on the person's stupidity. Any proper thief would have formatted the device.

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[–] [email protected] 121 points 4 months ago (4 children)

"is a lengthy time consuming process"

No, it REALLY isn't, and any pig that tells you otherwise is trying to get you to drop the issue so they don't have more paperwork.

They don't give a shit about your stolen items, and 9/10 times it's a complete waste to even contact them over "petty theft", regardless of how valuable the item/s are to you.

[–] chetradley 74 points 4 months ago (2 children)

They don't give a shit about your stolen items, and 9/10 times it's a complete waste to even contact them over "petty theft", regardless of how valuable the item/s are to you.

When I was in college, my apartment got broken into. The cop that came when I called was less than helpful. Some highlights:

  • He immediately argued with me that the crowbar marks on the door frame must have been there before.
  • I told him about the TV that was stolen and he bragged that he had two TVs that were larger than that.
  • He tried to bust me for weed when he saw my hookah. I had to explain to him that it was in fact not a bong and was only used for tobacco.
  • He mentioned that if it were him robbing me, he would have stolen the microwave instead.
  • As he was leaving, he told me that they wouldn't be able to catch whoever did it, so they weren't going to look.
[–] Latuga17 35 points 4 months ago

The cops are so unhelpful with break ins. I had a very similar experience when our house was broken into. First they told us our TV couldn't have been stolen out the window if we only had a bigger tv, then they told us they couldn't find any of our stuff and that they wouldn't try either.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Just claim your a company and they will magically give a shit about $1 of missing junk

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

Makes you wonder who they’re working for.

[–] copd 15 points 4 months ago

In the UK its not a "complete waste to even contact the police" because you need a crime number from them to claim on insurance.

I can and would claim home insurance for this and just buy a new one. It would only cost me time but my dumb ass has a lot of that

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

True, but I would have been filled with regret if I never even tried the official way of recovering it :(

is trying to get you to drop the issue so they don’t have more paperwork.

I had to visit 3 police stations before they agreed to take my case

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Oof. Honestly I'm surprised it was only three. At least you finally have a paper trail, if you've got any insurance that might cover it.

As for the ISP, there's always the possibility of requesting assistance directly from them, but they probably have internal rules about handing info to non-law enforcement, regardless of the reason.

And if you've got some friends who don't mind backup for intimidation, you could always show up at each workers door, politely introduce yourself and the reason for your appearance. If any of them immediately slam the door in your face or get defensive upon recognizing you (before you tell them why you're there) then there's a good chance they know you're there because they took something.

Anecdote: this happened with my truck in 2019. Someone broke in and stole about $1500 worth of things from a really nice pair of binocs, to the 2000w inverter, and my hand-made bowie knife, and a couple small camping and fishing things. Had to threaten to call the only supervisor I know by name in the police department to get the guy to even take a report for my insurance. They didn't bother following up with the woman who told me she saw the guy. A few weeks go by and I see someone fitting his description driving the described car, I follow for a bit and he went home. I parked the truck right up in front of the door, knocked, and as soon as he opened and looked past me to the truck he yelled "GET LOST OR I'LL FUCK YOU UP" and that was all I needed to call the cops. After about an hour of waiting someone showed up, talked to the guy, said "well he said he didn't do it and we never called this woman for a description so we can't be SURE"

Well lo and behold, a quick glance into his car showed the 2kw inverter under the dashboard, and I was positive I could see the rather distinct custom leather strap of the binoculars under the seat.

No idea who, but apparently someone smashed the guys window to steal a bunch of stuff out of it and they were kind enough to return my items. Crazy how they knew just where to leave them for me to find.

Best of luck in recovering it. Hopefully you get the quick and less... legally/morally ambiguous way.

[–] [email protected] 117 points 4 months ago (2 children)

lots of maintenance workers at the destination house.

Did these people work for a specific company? Complaining to the company directly about stolen items or leaving negative review of the company might help.

Either way it really sucks though, I'm sorry you went through that.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

even not a specific company: mention to all of them that it was stolen while they had a pretty limited group of people at the house

you might think it’s a case of “how would they know who there’s no point”, but people who steal things like this likely didn’t do it just once… it is, or will become a pattern of behaviour. if nobody reports it, they have no chance of identifying a pattern of behaviour to narrow down the culprit… if a company gets 2 or 3 reports of stolen items from houses that an individual employee is working at, it becomes pretty clear who the culprit could be

you even have pretty good evidence that it was stolen rather than lost: the fact that it came online for a period means someone has it and has connected it to a network and then not reported it lost

do make it clear though that you’re not insinuating that their company specifically is to blame; you just want them to know in case they have future problems. you don’t want them getting defensive, because that’s not productive for anyone

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Dumb question, the Steam Deck of the image is yours or you could never get it back? In a first instace I think that the Steam Deck in the image was yours.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's not mine. Just a random image which is like my emotional state at the time of the event.

[–] lolrightythen 12 points 4 months ago

Sorry, yo. Keep your head up

[–] copd 11 points 4 months ago

Its a dishonest clickbait tactic given most people assume the story would end with "i got it back smashed up".

I was let down by the time I completed reading but not enough to downvote.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sorry for the loss OP.

Maybe not what you want to hear right now, but I'm really glad Steam cloud minimises the impact of a loss. When I had a Nintendo Switch I was terrified of losing hundreds of hours of Dead Cells or Enter the Gungeon progress. Losing a Deck is obviously a financial loss (and the emotional attachment of someone special giving you yours), but at least there isn't insult to add to the injury the way Nintendo would do.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago

I am extremely grateful of Steam Cloud. I was playing Celeste and I saw that my progress is saved.

Also, I thankfully didnt use my personal IDs on the device. So the thieves couldn't use it for any other purpose.

[–] toasteecup 40 points 4 months ago

Not sure which country you live in, but renter's insurance covered a stolen item for me when I was renting. Worth a check if you have a similar thing.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

When it comes to small expensive electronics, you can never be too careful.

I was still in school when the PSP came out, and I had one on launch. I was dumb and was taking it to school daily, but I was very careful not to leave it out of my sight. One day in science class, it was stolen from right under me as it was inside my backpack, which was under my chair the entire class.

At the time, I blamed the 2 trouble makers in front of me since at points I was facing the back of the class for a group activity. I found out years later it was the Mormon next to me I trusted, who I can only assume expertly unzipped my bag and slipped it out while nobody was paying attention. I never got that PSP back, and I ended up buying another one later, both with my own money... It was a brutal reality check that taught me a handful of lessons in life

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

My brother had a moment like that as a kid. He had a phone and put it in a locker when he went to gym (kids stuff, you know. Get them active, get them tired) and… the locker wasn’t locked. Plus having the pin enabled was annoying so he didn’t have that either. Yep. He learned that lesson…

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (2 children)

My deepest condolences... Can I offer you an egg in your trying times?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the egg. It's eggcelent.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (2 children)

stop! you're scaring the americans with that unwashed egg!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Looks like the eggs I have in America

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There are pre-rinsed eggs in the US? I know our rice comes pre-washed, but I've never heard of pre-washed eggs.

[–] candybrie 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

All eggs sold in stores in the US are pre-washed. It's why they need to be refrigerated, unlike most other places.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Huh, TIL. I'd always heard that you need to wash eggs before using them.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago

I asked, through the person who hired the workers, if they took it. But all the workers refused.

Cool, you're all fired. GTFO of my house.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago (2 children)

One of the workers definitely stole it

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Plot twist, it was the mother.

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[–] TrickDacy 26 points 4 months ago (7 children)

It's really insane that paid help went digging through your shit and stole an expensive item. I do not think that is something people would or could expect.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The only country I'd trust paid help in is Japan. Anywhere else and it is very likely a considerable portion are either thieves or one unlocked door away from thievery. Doesn't matter if it's in my home or in their shop(like for a car).

[–] TrickDacy 16 points 4 months ago (4 children)

That's really sad. Many movers could've stolen from me over many moves, if they wanted, but I haven't yet found a case of it happening. That sounds like a really stressful way to live, thinking that way

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[–] MutilationWave 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I work a labor job and had three ladders stolen from me on a single project. As I was a contractor at the time it came out of my pocket. There was actually a fourth attempt when I found mine with painter's tape over where I wrote my name.

[–] TrickDacy 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's messed up. Has that been a common occurrence?

[–] MutilationWave 10 points 4 months ago

I've had a couple tools go missing at other sites but all the ladder theft was at one site.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago

FYI, the cops will not do shit with the info you gave them. Probably never even wrote it down.

[–] AtHeartEngineer 21 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Do you have renters insurance?

[–] ganksy 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The deductible is probably more than the SD is worth.

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[–] serenissi 16 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I've a suggestion that might work depending on how honest the perspn hiring the worker is and on their contract. You can tell the person to send some questionnaire or feedback form etc to all of them which will track their ip and name/email (say unique form per worker). Then you can match the ip, as home ips are mostly static for short duration. Tell them to send the form at night or sometime when they'll be at home and give it a short deadline.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I am so sorry, that is a horrible story. It is not your fault!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

I, along with the rest of my family, are probably too trusting of people. At my old place, i used to leave stuff like this all the time and I never even thought that it could get stolen.

I wish I learnt this lesson earlier but in a different manner. 😔

[–] paddirn 12 points 4 months ago (5 children)

I feel you, mine got lost/stolen about 6+ months ago, seemingly just inside my house, since I never take it anywhere. I’m not a hoarder, keep a relatively tidy house, though I have kids (so tidiness is only ever temporary). I turned over and looked through literally every room in the house, every cupboard, shelf, drawer, and piece of furniture was checked and re-checked and still, nothing. I only just got over it a few weeks ago and broke down and got another one, but this time got an AirTag for it. I’m just more annoyed at the not knowing part, hopefully it’ll just turn up in some stupidly ridiculous place that it hadn’t occurred for me to look, but I suspect I won’t see it again. I doubt it was stolen, since that’s seemingly the only thing gone. Potentially one of the kids broke it and, rather than tell me, they trashed it, but that doesn’t seem like them either or one of them would’ve broken ranks and confessed.

It drove me insane trying to find it before and it still bothers me, but at least I have a Steam Deck again.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

How old are your kids? Is it possible one of their friends could have stolen it when they were inside your home? Speaking from experience, kids don't always have the best judgment regarding who they hang out with.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Oh my, I really felt this story. I'm so sorry for your loss

[–] Joelk111 9 points 4 months ago (10 children)

Heads up, Google now has a FindMy network like Apple's that'll update much more frequently than a Tile due to the sheer number of users. The downside, as compared to a tile, is that it'll notify the thief that a tracker is following them.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Did you contact Valve or have the person who bought it contact Valve to report it as stolen?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Yes, i contacted valve. They marked the device as stolen. The Valve employee said that it won't be applicable for future warranty attempts. I'm not sure what else is possible.

I hope when the thief connects his account to the device, it get banned or something.

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